A larger motor solves the problem of mechanical wear by replacing mechanical components with solid state ones. Yes you need bigger IGBTs, bigger current handling capacity starting at the cell level, parts must be stronger to handle more torque, etc. There are downsides.
But in almost all engineering situations, it's well understood that replacing mechanical components with solid state ones is almost always the right call and leads to better reliability / durability. I can think of MANY situations where the evolution of a product went from mechanical to solid state (with quality and reliability increasing as a result), I can't think of any situations where a solid state system was replaced with a mechanical system and it ended up being better or cheaper.
My mind is open though, feel free to provide some examples.
If you’ll recall, Eberhard was trying to keep costs down so that ordinary folks could afford the vehicle.
What I recall was the plan from the beginning was always that Roadster would be an expensive ~$150k+ rich people toy that would finance development of the $80k luxury car that would finance development of the $30k car for everyone. I don't remember anyone talking about 'ordinary folks' driving a Roadster.
I remember many journalists were allowed to drive early versions of the car, but locked in 2nd gear.
If you want to argue that there was a negative trickle down effect- that starting with Roadster, sizing the motor and power handling for extreme accel led to higher costs, it's a valid argument but I personally disagree.
I think a more valid argument is that putting such extreme accel in a car set an extremely high standard and it became expected that an EV would be quick off the line. Whereas, an EV that has 'normal gas engine accel' (say 0-60 in 6-8 seconds) could use smaller motors, smaller IGBTs, smaller wiring, etc and thus cost less but wouldn't sell as well since Tesla set the bar so high. That's a valid argument.
Personally I don't agree- I drive a Tesla Model Y long range, and the rapid acceleration is one of my favorite features of the car. Other than just being fun, it means there's never a question of 'can I accelerate fast enough to turn in front of that guy?' or 'do I have space to pass this person?'.
I also note that mainstream automakers were focused on large format pouch cells for their battery packs, which suffered issues of thermal expansion and containing a runaway reaction. Tesla used a couple crates of 18650s and coddled them, and in time 'large number of small cells' became the industry standard.
I also note that other automakers are now talking about 'shifting' EVs but they're simulating the effect with motor control tricks and a speaker that plays fake engine noise. You could say big auto had no imagination 10-20 years ago, but now EVs are going mainstream and that excuse no longer holds up. If an automaker is going to the trouble of making a fake electronic 'transmission', why wouldn't they just put a real transmission and a smaller motor / smaller power handling system?
I'd argue because even without a need for extreme accel, the big mechanical transmission costs more in cost and weight than the larger motor and power system would.
